BirdTrout
Open the map
Thunder Bay weekend fly fishing trip
27 waters in the Thunder Bay watershed, Michigan, have a page here, the largest of them Upper South Branch Thunder Bay River, Wolf Creek and Little Wolf Creek. May, June and July carry the most recorded hatches, 19 insects in May, 26 insects in June and 24 insects in July. In range: 8 blocks of public land with a page of their own, 8 state-forest campgrounds and 8 fly shops. Everything below is measured or published — no ranking on this page is ours.
The water
| Water | Miles | July mean |
|---|---|---|
| Upper South Branch Thunder Bay River | 34.9 | — |
| Wolf Creek | 17.3 | — |
| Little Wolf Creek | 17.1 | — |
| Gilchrist Creek | 14.4 | — |
| McGinn Creek | 14.2 | — |
| Sucker Creek | 11.9 | — |
| Hunt Creek | 11.6 | — |
| Crooked Creek | 8.6 | — |
| Marsh Creek | 8.4 | — |
| Weber Creek | 8.1 | — |
| Buff Creek | 8.0 | — |
| Indian Creek | 7.7 | — |
| Comstock Creek | 7.2 | — |
| Haymeadow Creek | 7.1 | — |
| Cole Creek | 6.3 | — |
| Widner Creek | 5.9 | — |
| Vincent Creek | 5.3 | — |
| Cold Creek | 4.5 | — |
| Sage Creek | 4.0 | — |
| Sheridan Creek | 4.0 | — |
| West Branch River | 3.7 | — |
| Barger Creek | 3.6 | — |
| Yoder Creek | 3.5 | — |
| Stanniger Creek | 2.7 | — |
| Nugent Creek | 2.5 | — |
| Lockwood Creek | 2.4 | — |
| Greasy Creek | 1.5 | — |
Ordered by mapped length. July mean is measured at the USGS gauges standing in each river; a dash means no gauge on it reports temperature.
A 3-day plan
Upper South Branch Thunder Bay River
No site in the state's access file falls within twelve miles of this water's centre, so the way in is public ground and road crossings.
Wolf Creek
No site in the state's access file falls within twelve miles of this water's centre, so the way in is public ground and road crossings.
Little Wolf Creek
Nearest listed access: Au Sable River - Forest Road 4842 (walk in), 9.0 mi, or Au Sable River At Bear Island U.s. Forest Service Campground (walk in), 9.0 mi.
Assembled, not written: the days are the largest waters in range, longest first, and each one carries the nearest site in Michigan's own access file — measured from the middle of the water, so it is a place to start looking rather than a landing on that river. Fish them in whatever order the weather gives you.
Hatches to hit
The months with the most recorded hatches in northern lower Michigan: May (19), June (26), July (24).
| Insect | Months | Hook |
|---|---|---|
| Fish Eggs | October–January and April | #10–16 |
| Little Black Stonefly | January–April | #16–18 |
| Little Brown Stonefly | February–April | #12–16 |
| Blue-Winged Olive | March–May and September–November | #16–22 |
| Blackfly | April–June | #18–22 |
| Blue Quill | April–May | #16–18 |
| Cranefly | April–June and September–October | #6–10 |
| Grannom | April–May | #14–16 |
| Green Rock Worm / Green Weenie | April–June and September–October | #10–14 |
| Hendrickson | April–May | #12–14 |
| Little Black Caddis | April–May | #16–20 |
| Alderfly | May–June | #10–14 |
| Caterpillar | May–September | #8–14 |
| Crayfish | May–October | #4–8 |
Recorded from northern lower Michigan, earliest first. The year-round records sit at the bottom because they are true and they are not news.
Public land in range
- Turtle Lake Club — 4.6 mi
- Lockwood Lake Ranch — 5.4 mi
- Lumberlost Farms — 8.1 mi
- Hunt Creek Fisheries Research Area — 11.1 mi
- Sage Lakes State Wildlife Management Area — 11.2 mi
- Hunt Creek — 11.4 mi
- Au Sable National Scenic River — 14.3 mi
- Au Sable State Forest - Grayling Unit — 16.8 mi
Blocks of ground with a page of their own, nearest first. Ownership from PAD-US as Michigan publishes it.
Camping and lodging
| Campground | Distance | Operator |
|---|---|---|
| McCollum Lake State Forest Campground (fee) | 5.2 mi | MDNR |
| Cathedral Pines Campground (fee) | 13.5 mi | USFS |
| Avery Lake State Forest Campground (fee) | 13.9 mi | MDNR |
| Big Oaks Equestrian State Forest Campground (fee) | 14.0 mi | MDNR |
| Buttercup Campground (fee) | 14.0 mi | USFS |
| Bear Island Campground (fee) | 14.6 mi | USFS |
| Meadow Springs Campground (fee) | 14.6 mi | USFS |
| Au Sable Loop Campground and Day Use Area (fee) | 15.6 mi | USFS |
State-forest and state-park campgrounds from Michigan's own file. This site holds no hotel or motel data and does not pretend to: what it can tell you is where the public ground is.
Fly shops
- Bait & Tackle Shop — 10.7 mi
- Ausable River Outfitters — 16.4 mi, Mio
- Fuller's North Branch Outing Club — 27.1 mi, Lovells
- Chum Bucket Sport fishing Charters — 28.7 mi, Alpena
- Clem's Bait & Tackle — 28.8 mi, Alpena
- Gates Au Sable Lodge — 32.7 mi, Grayling
- Onaway Outfitters — 38.3 mi, Onaway
- Village Outfitters — 40.2 mi, Roscommon
From OpenStreetMap and a curated list, across all five states on this site. Call before you drive — a shop in a file is not a shop that is open.
Before you go
- Michigan regulations
- Michigan fishing report
- Thunder Bay watershed
- Upper South Branch Thunder Bay River
- Wolf Creek
- Little Wolf Creek
- Gilchrist Creek
- McGinn Creek
- Sucker Creek